Wednesday, 3 June 2009

Thank you for the kind comments and well wishes following my previous post. I had the stitches out a few days ago and the wound seems to be healing well. Immediately following the accident, I did think "what if I never want to pick up a knife and cook again??!" which did not happen of course. I was back to cooking within a couple of days. AP cut up ingredients for me initially, while I had limited use of my left hand, but I was soon chopping and cutting away again (albeit very carefully without the use of my left thumb).

Buying a new recipe book was also a good incentive to start cooking again. This dish - chicken with sundried tomato and mustard sauce - was something that I made a few days ago from the new cookbook (a compilation of recipes from the Australian Women's Weekly magazine). I was in a mood for chicken and having mustard and sundried tomatoes in my fridge meant this meal could be put together in a flash. I served the chicken with parsley couscous and grilled asparagus, although it would also do well on a bed of salad leaves with the sauce as a dressing.

1. Season the chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. 2. Add chicken breast to the pan and cook over medium heat, until browned on both sides and cooked through. It takes about 5 to 8 minutes each side, depending on the thickness of your fillets. Remove the chicken and set aside. 3. Add stock or water to the same pan and bring to the boil. Deglaze the pan, stirring to mix in pan juices from cooking the chicken and garlic. Simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes until the sauce is partly reduced. 4. Stir in the mustard and sundried tomatoes and simmer for another minute. Add the spring onions and mix well. 5. Serve the chicken with the sauce spooned over.

Daphne: Thanks. My mum had always said to avoid seafood with a wound (or post operation etc), something to do with infection and wound recovery. Sounds like old wives tales to me but hey it's little effort enough if just to make sure my wound heals better and quicker!

Little Corner of Mine: Hope the family enjoys it!

Ninette: Thanks!

Kevin: Thanks, nice to hear from you :)

Mrs Ergul: I prefer to get jars of pre-soaked tomatoes. More convenient, and lots of delicious infused oil for salads, pasta and cooking :)